I bought two OTR suits from MJ Bale in Sydney during the X'mas / NY special for 2 suits for a grand. The material feels good and I have been told they are all 100% Australian Marina wool. I paid another $100 for the extra trouser for each suit so 4 in total.

Two suits are the exact same cut. As you would expect the fit isn't perfect and there are a couple of adjustments to be made to make it look smart on me. I have paid MJ Bale to make some really minor adjustments such as take in the back shoulder a tiny bit and shorten the length of the trousers. To my surprise they have done a really bad job as all the length were way too long when I pick up the suits. They kept rushing me out (maybe because it was 5:15 pm on Sunday) and assured me the measures of all 4 pants would be identical. I regret I didn't try them all on in the shops because I later discovered back home some trousers are longer than others... Also as mentioned I need more alterations to make to suit fit me better, things like:

- the width of the trousers are a bit to wide so I need to take in a bit

- Trousers need to be shorten again!!

- the length of the jacket is too long

- the jacket can be further slim in the waist area

I think the cut is a Italian style, with minimal padding on the shoulder. I prefer a slim style suits. Both suits are mainly for work purpose.

So here are some of the questions I have. I would appreciate some input and comment:

- How's the quality of MJ Bale suits? What people think of their cloth material? they claimed they are 100% Australian Marina wool. They don't tell you if they are super 120 or something like that, just 100% wool...

- Most importantly, can someone recommend me a good tailor that can do a good job on suit alteration in Sydney without charging too much. I really don't know how much I should expect to pay for jobs described above.

- Should I just take it to the alteration place in some major shopping centre? I am close to "Looksmart" in Chatswood Chase.

I know this question has been asked in the past a couple of times but based on what I have searched some of the replies were quite dated. Some updated advice would be great!

And if price is a consideration also then I would recommend Aadys Alteration. They are in the in the Martin Place walkway when you are heading towards MLC centre. Ask for Sow she will do a good job especially if the alteration is not too complicated. She knows her stuff.

I've tried a lot of different places and have yet to settle on a tailor that consistently delivers or is at a reasonable price point.

Hayel & Sons: workmanship has been good, though one of my trousers was a bit botched when Mohammed handled it rather than Hayel. Pricing is a bit on the pricier end of the spectrum.

Lucy's: I've been to Lucy's on a few occasions and wasn't that impressed, though reading the interwebs she is meant to handle a lot of the high end designers. Again pricing is similar to Hayel's.

M&R tailors: suggested a few friends try them out, which they were happy with - though when I spoke to them I decided I may as well stick to my usual choices that are towards my end of town.

Sew Special: the ladies here did pretty decent work taking in a few jackets for me, but pricing seemed inconsistent.

Oxxford in-house: affordable, but on one occasion someone obviously got lazy as they applied adhesive to take up my pant hems rather than sew them...

Margaret's Alterations: latest tailor for me to try, initial impressions upon speaking to them seem positive given the amount of effort Margaret took adjusting my trouser length. However, pricing seems more expensive than the above - initially told $18 to take up trouser hems, then got written up for $24 but I was told this was because $24 is by hand and $18 by machine. Not sure why I need my trouser hems taken up by hand rather than blind-stitch with a machine, but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt as my first try.